How 5G and IoT Technology Can Transform Health and Social Care

COVID-19 forced the NHS in England, and healthcare systems around the world, to change rapidly. While in the NHS the most visible manifestations of the crisis were the PPE-clad frontline NHS workers dealing with an influx of coronavirus cases, and the rapid expansion of capacity through new Nightingale hospitals, it also had to find ways to deal with patients seeking help with a wide range of conditions without coming into direct contact with them. This led to a huge acceleration in the NHS’s transformation towards greater use of digital technology – something that was already under way before COVID-19 but has been catalysed by it.

In March, behind the scenes, the workplace collaboration platform Microsoft Teams was rolled out to all NHS organisations, and a national agreement was signed for use of the video consultation platform Attend Anywhere, enabling outpatient appointments to be carried out remotely; mobile network operators including Vodafone zero-rated Attend Anywhere calls so that customers could use the service without it affecting their data usage limits.